The Starburst Bet
by Hisa-Ai
Summary: Nick and Jess finally have some time to relax and enjoy each other's company after Cece's not-wedding. But what happens when the eating of some fruit-flavored candy turns into a bet Nick can't afford to lose? Ness.


**This takes place after the season finale and all that, and it's basically just some Ness goodness. Because in my mind, when they "uncalled" it, they became a couple. I don't know if that's how the writers intended that to be, but until season three starts and proves me wrong, that's what I'm going to spend the summer thinking. It'll help me get through the hot summer months without new episodes, after all. So, yeah, for all intents and purposes, they're a couple here. And I'm not even sorry.**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own New Girl and I don't own Starbursts. If I did, Jake Johnson's face would be imprinted on any and all starbursts ever made. I'll let you figure out _why_. Ten points to the house that figures it out first.

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**Fic:**

Somehow, in all the chaos that followed Cece's not-wedding, Nick and Jess still found time to enjoy their newfound relationship. Between Jess' dad trying to get between them and making snide remarks that showed his obvious disapproval of Nick, having to find that stupid badger, consoling Cece as she awaited Schmidt's decision, smacking some sense into Schmidt and telling him to make a God damn decision already before both women told him to screw off, visiting Winston in the hospital and making sure he was going to be all right, Jess and Nick were both _very busy _in the week after the wedding.

Eventually, though, things settled down a bit. Jess' dad left town, reminding Nick that he wasn't good enough for his little girl before he did so.

Cece calmed down as she cleaned up her apartment and packed up all Shivrang's things, telling Schmidt he could take all the time he needed to figure out who he wanted to be with; she would wait.

Schmidt still didn't have a decision ready for the girls, but he didn't string them along, he made it clear that he didn't know who he wanted to be with and as such both women agreed to keep their distance until he came to a decision, but Elizabeth said he should hurry up; she was not going to sit around waiting for him forever.

Winston made a full recovery and was released from the hospital three days after being admitted, and having a mixed emotional response when he heard the news that the badger was caught and alive and well – he now had a personal beef with him, after all, even if he did love the hell out of him…

Yes, everything was slowly calming down and the pair were finally allowed an evening to relax in the after-glow of their love for one another.

They had spent the afternoon a week after Cece's not-wedding doing some grocery shopping, and as a reward for being on his best behavior, Jess had allowed Nick to pick one thing out of the candy aisle. In a fruity sort of mood, he had picked up a bag of Starbursts and threw them onto the conveyor belt, forgetting about them until they got home and were putting the food away.

After finally getting everything in its proper place – it had taken longer than it should have due to their impromptu make-out session caused by Nick picking Jess up and sitting her on the counter when she asked for help putting something into the cabinet over it that she was unable to reach without help. She had looked down into his eyes in surprise, a goofy smirk on his face as his hands lingered on her waist, and then dropped whatever she'd had in her hands and leaned down, kissing him slowly and softly. – the pair had taken the bag of starbursts and settled in on the couch, snuggling close together with the bag thrown on to the table in front of them. The TV was turned on to some sit-com or another that neither was really paying attention to, more enjoying the quiet ease and peace that over-came the pair when they were so close together, hearts beating quietly and blissfully.

Yes. It was a good afternoon. Quiet, peaceful, together. _Perfect_.

Eventually, the sit-com ended and some infomercial came on – who the hell put infomercials on at five PM, anyway? – and Nick flipped off the television in annoyance, untangling his arms from around Jess and sitting up, rubbing his eyes as though he'd just woken up from a refreshing nap.

Jess sat up then as well, frowning slightly at the loss of his warm arms. She ran a hand through her tangled hair and looked around, wondering what time it was and where their roommates were. Her eyes caught Nick's and his mouth quickly turned up into a goofy smile as he reached over, grabbed the bag of Starbursts, and ripped it open. Jess smiled back as he held the bag out to her, picking up a cherry-kiwi one for himself and ripping it open as Jess pulled out a yellow one, not really sure what flavor it was until she opened it and put it in her mouth, falling back against the couch as Nick plopped the bag down between them.

Some time went by in the silence, just the sounds of them sucking on their candy and stealing glances at one another filling it. Nick's hand found Jess' and their fingers intertwined, playfully fighting over who got to stroke the other's hand with their thumb until they finished their candy.

Nick reached out with his free hand to pick up another piece as Jess did the same, their fingers coming to rest on the same cherry-kiwi piece. Nick smiled and pulled it out of the bag, he was fully willing to fight her for the square of flavored candy if need-be, and Jess had the look of a woman who was willing to do the same on her face. But, Nick decided, it wasn't worth getting into a death-match over a piece of candy, so he let it go, watching her intently as she turned it around in her hand delicately.

"You know," she held it up to her eye, examining the sharp corners with a fixed sort of interest. "I can open one of these with my mouth." She told him, smiling devilishly as a look of skepticism came over his face. His hand froze over the bag of candy as his turtle face made an appearance, she was obviously trying to bait him, but he couldn't figure out why… Maybe she was just bored. Or maybe she really _could_ do it. But she was probably just bored.

"Yeah right!" he snorted, letting his arm fall away from the candy and instead rest against the couch as he leaned down towards her, eyes locked flirtatiously on her shining lips.

"But I can!" she insisted, holding the starburst out towards him, challenging him in a way. He shook his head, still smiling in spite of himself.

"It's impossible. These are made to be opened with your hands, not your mouth. I call bullshit." He said, letting the words slip out of his mouth before he could even begin to worry about offending her. Thankfully, she didn't seem fazed by his choice of words, choosing instead to be offended by his accusation. He was oh-for-two, so it seemed.

"You wanna bet?" she asked, chin jutting out defiantly. He nodded his head, leaning forward ever so slightly. A bet, huh? He was a gambling man, he would admit, and any bet made with Jessica Day… It was sure to be all the more interesting.

"Hell yeah I wanna bet."

"All right, so if I can't get this open with my mouth – and that's a big _if_ – what do you want?" she asked, preferring to get his terms before she offered her own.

Nick sat pensive for a moment. There were quite a few things he could ask for – quite a few _dirty_ things he could ask her to do to him when he won – but, well, they were all things she would do to him anyway. And besides, why waste a perfectly good bet on something that wouldn't matter a week from now? He liked his bets to have ever-lasting effects, reminding the loser of their loser-ness for as long as possible. Plus, there was something he had wanted to bring up for the longest time now anyway, and what better way to do it than this way? It was so very… _Nick-like_ that he just couldn't pass it up.

"Okay," he slapped a hand on his thigh before continuing, a new-found determination in his eyes. "If I win, _I want_," he paused dramatically and leaned down more, barely whispering in her ear in fear of some eavesdropping phantom hearing his confession, his voice vulnerable and lovely, hoarse and sexy all at once. "I want you to take my last name when we get married." He finished, waiting for her heart to calm down and for her to process it, think of a suitable reply.

And what could she say, really? How could she know that he had been thinking about marrying her for some time now? Even before they were together, even before everything that had happened between them, even before he had thought about sleeping with her, he had thought about what it would be like to marry her, to spend the rest of his life with her, to buy a house with her, have little dysfunctional children with her, live in a house of their own filled with her sunshine and his grumpiness. How could she _know_ any of that?

She couldn't. But that couldn't stop her from dealing with the implications of his words. In fact, he hoped she confronted him with them, hoped she could tell how serious he was. He kept his position, breathing on her neck unsteadily, waiting for her reaction, waiting for her words.

"_When_? Don't you mean _if_?" she finally asked in a breathy whisper of her own, but he could tell from her tone that she knew that he had said _exactly_ what he meant.

"I mean _when_." He assured her, still whispering.

Jess' eyes were wide, wondering why he would have that proposition, why he would just assume she wouldn't take his name when/if they got married one of these days anyway.

"I heard you and Cece talking while you guys were planning her wedding," he began to explain, still whispering, reading her mind. "And you said that when you got married, you wouldn't take your husband's name. I think that would be such a shame; if you're mine, I want people to _know_ that from your name. I want you to introduce yourself as Mrs. Jess Miller, and I want people to think, _oh, she's married to Nick Miller_. It's awfully selfish of me," he admitted with a shrug, one of his fingers coming up to twirl a strand of her hair around. She smiled at him slightly, considering his words for a moment before she replied.

"Alright, if you win, when we get married, I'll take your last name." She told him, nodding slightly as he pulled her towards him and kissed her quickly, remembering they were in the middle of something before he took it too far.

"And if _you_ win, what do you want?" he asked, holding her face closely as she watched him with half-lidded eyes, his kiss still holding the power to leave her breathless and senseless.

"Whatever I want." Jess told him. "If I win, I want _whatever I want._" She said. Though her answer was rather convoluted, Nick knew what she meant. She wanted a free-pass, to be able to ask for anything her little heart so desired. He might not agree to whatever she wanted, and she knew that, so she found her own little way around it. He wanted to decline the deal, tell her she needed to give him a concrete answer, set the stakes out for all to see, but… She was Jess, damnit, and if she wanted to keep her prize secret for now, he wouldn't object.

"You don't want to tell me until you win, _if_ you win?" he asked, chuckling as she nodded with a sly smile. "Okay, deal. If _I_ win, you have to take my name when we get married, and if _you_ win… you get whatever you want." He shrugged, shaking her hand with a smile still on his face. Goddamn, he did a lot of smiling around her! But he couldn't help it, she was just so… _Jess_. So intoxicating and contagious. He couldn't help but smile when he saw her and realized that she was finally his. That was enough to put a smile on anyone's face, he decided.

"Okay," she said, pulling back and showing him the starburst. She was about to put it into her mouth when Nick caught her hand, stopping her with one hand as he picked up another starburst with the other.

"Just to make sure there's no funny business – for all I know, you fixed that one or something to make sure you win," he told her with a smile as she rolled her eyes. She opened her mouth, humoring him, and told him to put it in, her mouth looking so decadent, so kissable, that it took everything in his power to put the starburst in her mouth and not his tongue. _Good things come to those who wait_, he thought to himself, her mouth closing around his fingers momentarily as he pulled them back, sending a shiver of delight down his spine.

He sat back on the couch, sure he would win and that someday she would be Mrs. Nick Miller. But a look of defeat washed over his own face not even ten seconds later when she spit the wrapper out of her mouth and stuck her tongue out, showing him the now unwrapped piece of square candy.

God damnit!

"How the hell did you do that?" Nick demanded as Jess closed her mouth, smirking as she sucked victoriously on her candy.

"I told you I could do it," was all she said in response, sitting back and crossing her legs as she reveled in _her_ victory and _his_ loss.

"What other sorts of magic can you do with your witchy mouth?" he asked flirtatiously, leaning closer to her, hand resting on her thigh. He couldn't even be mad that she had won; she was _so good_ at it.

Jess let out a laugh and shook her head. "Wouldn't _you_ like to know…"

Nick laughed right along with her and leaned over to nuzzle her neck as she enjoyed her victory, his kisses just sweetening the deal as silence fell over them as she finished her candy.

Once she was done, she nudged him off, ready to collect her prize.

With a slight grimace he couldn't keep on for long, Nick sat up straight, ready to take his punishment. "Okay, what do you want? You want me to take your name when we get married? 'Cause I have _no problem_ being Nick Day. I will _rock_ the hell out of your name, Jess, I swear to God." He told her sincerely, her lithe little laugh breaking his serious-streak.

"No… but that _is_ a good idea," she pondered, finger to her chin in contemplation.

"Alright, so what do you want then?" he laughed.

"You did say I could have anything, right?"

"Yeah, anything."

"Okay, then…" she said, suddenly shy. His smile lit up as she reached out and took his hand, tugging him closer to her. "_I want_… _you_." She finished, his heart swelling as he pulled her lips closer to him, kissing her slowly, the taste of cherry-kiwi swirling around his mouth as he pulled her closer still.

She wanted _him_.

And she _had_ won the bet, so he would be her prize. For as long as she wanted him, for as long as she wanted to remember that she was the winner and he, well, he was a winner, too, just not in this bet.

**Fin.**

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**I don't know if it's realistic for them to be talking so candidly about marriage and all that so soon, but I just thought it was a cute idea, so I took it and I ran with it. **

**In case you're wondering, this was inspired by me just sitting on my bed opening some starbursts with my mouth and thinking about New Girl. That's... that's really all there is to it.**

**Also, I really suck at endings, and I also really under-estimate my own ability sometimes, so the ending here just seems so god damn weak to me, but if it seems fine to you, please let me know. I don't usually do this, but I've been feeling very self-conscious about the way I end things lately, so if it seems okay to you and I'm just being weird and hating on my own ability, you should totally let me know before I give up on writing New Girl fanfiction forever and ever. Yes, I am being mellow-dramatic right now. No, I will not stop.**

**How are you guys feeling about the Cece-Schmidt-Elizabeth love-triangle thing? I don't really know how I feel about it yet. I mean, I love him and Cece together, but I also love him and Elizabeth together, so I don't really know who to root for in this whole thing, you know? It's just... so confusing!**

**Always,  
Hisa-Ai**


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